Travel, Ships, and Choices Antarctica, Friday, 19 November 2023

 

I am seeing a lot of requests for information about which ship, which cruise, which itinerary in some of the forums I participate in.  While I have not experienced many of Antarctic trips, I think that I stumbled into what was for me the perfect trip. I will suggest questions that one should ask themselves, their travel professionals, and the cruise companies. This blog is especially written for those that have limitations in their travel but have the heart of an explorer. 

I am not in anyway a professional writer or traveler. My expertise in wrangling blogspot is almost nil. (The italics and quote marks further on have been provided by a poltergeist.) Please read my other blog posts about my Antarctic travels, as well as other odd places I am wont to go. The opinions, typos, and misinformation here are my own. Do not blame others for my pigheadedness. 

In my reread for editing, I realize that this has become a bit of a love letter about the ship I was on. The GExpedition far exceeded my expectations so I guess that she does get a bit of a love letter from me. 

First and perhaps most important: Should I go to the Antarctic?

This is a very special place. And it is very fragile. If you are going just to add another check box to your list, maybe you should consider other trips.  If you are very exacting in what your travel needs are or if you do not like risk or uncertainty this is probably not going to be your best bet. The Drake Passage may be in a bad mood. Weather may prevent shore landings or visibility may be very poor. 

But if you are willing to take a chance, the payoff is big. You will never have such a chance to see and experience anything like it.  

• Ecotravel. This has become a greenwash term that almost all travel venues use to make you feel better. I will talk about this more later, but the bare minimum is IAATO. This is a group of travel tourism groups that aim to set good standards for how tourism can benefit rather than degrade the unique and fragile Antarctic.
• Cruise or Expedition? One word implies a holiday, a jolly trip. The other refers to education, and learning, and sometimes things one does not like very much. In travel, I always opt for the expedition.

Which ship? 

• Size: The bigger ships can provide a more stable travel environment. Less rock and roll.  Their itinerary will be more fixed. There will be more onboard amenities. A smaller ship will give you more adventure.  If you are lucky enough to have a captain and expedition crew that are willing to go for something that may or may not work out, you might have something happen that is beyond all expectations, or it may be a wash and you lose that roll of the dice.
• 
  Age. There are several new ships that have some great things to say for them.  The GExpedition was built as a ferry in the 1970s. But I found her to be a charming vessel. Comfortable and snug. And we had no leaking doors on balconies.
• Stabilizers. There are different mechanisms that make a ship less rock and roll. I do not have the understanding of each, but there are folks that do.  In my opinion, if the amount of ship movement is going to be a problem, you might reconsider whether this is the adventure for you.
•  Ice rating or class. Many of the ships rated better for ice are the smaller, older ships. 
• Let me add a note here that I wish all of the web sites were better at listing the different ships they offer, and which specific trips these ships were booked for.
• Expedition Staff.  I don't know how to research this well, but pay attention where you see comments on staff. As my interest is not just to take another trip, but to actually learn about where I am going the expedition staff (the tour leaders and lecturers) make a significant difference. 
• 
  Decor. I really don't give a hoot about decor. As long as the chairs don't break, the upholstery doesn't have gaping holes. You really don't plan to spend most of your time in the lounge do you?
• Read many, many comments. Look beyond the glowing 5 star reports. Bad comments can be for many reasons. When you look at other reviews by that person, you may find the facts that made them dislike the trip are exactly what you are looking for in a trip. Too rough? Well the Drake can be unpleasant. Didn't like the food? perhaps this was someone with a special diet that the cook couldn't please. Comments on the crew, and their knowledge base could be a plus or a warning sign. 

Use a travel agency?

I rarely use one, but this time I am glad I did.

Lauren Farmer at PolarTracks (Lauren@polartracksexpeditions.com) was super at helping me decipher what all of the different cruises and companies were about. It is nice to have someone familiar with the different ships and itineraries.

Bev Turpin at Dalianas (bev@dalianes.com) helped me thru the morass of travel to Ushuaia.  Without her help and advice my trip could  have met with disaster. 

Travel to the embarcation. 

I wish I had done a "bungee" day in Ushuaia. The airports (and yes there are two) in Buenos Aires are chaos.  The small hop airlines like Aero Linias are as bad as you might think. Add to this the unpredictable nature of the weather and the chances of missing your ship are more than you expected.  If or should I say when I do this again I will plan a day or two in Ushuaia to visit the park more and do some hiking

Travel Insurance: I cannot tell you how important this can be. Do not cheap out here. There were people on our trip that had just returned when there were mechanical and medical problems. There are two kinds of insurance you should carry.  

• Medical insurance covers amongst other things the cost of getting you back. Even if you are in perfect health, there are many opportunities for you to break a leg or other such misfortune, and you are a long way from help. Read your contract and know what it covers.
• The other kind of insurance covers changes, cancelations, ships returning because someone else breaks a leg. In a world where one missed flight can mean that you are unable to get to your ship in time, this becomes a gamble that you don't want.

Rooms: If you have a travel mate, this is not so important. But if you travel solo, there may be higher fees for a shared room where they assign your roommate. The more expensive rooms have better windows, and even  balconies. They are also higher from the water line, so more side to side movement. The rooms are going to be small.  Be prepared to make compromises.

CPAP:  There are ships that will not allow room assignments for CPAP users. This is total BS, but they get to make the rules.

Packing List

The fine line between taking too much, and wishing you had brought something is very small. The following is not meant to be a comprehensive packing list.  Rather it is a comment on what I did or did not bring.

•  Food: It is likely that they will feed you far better than you expect. But if there is some comfort food, or food that keeps your tummy happy in rough conditions you may want to have a small stash.
• Sea Sick Stuff: Yes.  Bring it all. The standard stuff, the organic stuff, the wrist bands.  If you are at all troubled with a glass stomach, get a prescription from your doctor.
• Medical: Take any and all things you might possibly need.  If you have a tendency to sprain you ankle, take your own ace bandages.You will not have access to a pharmacy or any other store when on ship. 
• Clothing. Mostly I wore my merino wool tee shirts. I wish I had taken jogging pants that could be worn over my long johns and under my water proof pants.
• Socks. Several pair of light weight wool and medium weight wool to layer together. Much better than the heavy ones.

• Shoes. You will want step in shoes for onboard. Not flip flops or socks, but actual shoes.  The  GExplorer had indoor and outdoor spaces that we frequented, and these places were often icy. 

• Electronica.  Take the weird 2 prong adaptor for Argentinian style plugs.  A splitter for USB chargers for sharing with your room mate. An extention cord if you use a CPAP as the plug is going to be in the wrong place. a USB drive for sharing photos. 

• 
  Boots and Parka. These will be provided by the ship (probably. Check with your carrier) But remember the time you will spend in Ushuaia. You may need them there, so I don't know.

 

 

 

 The Zodiacs: 

I think that the zodiac trips may be my favorite part of ship life. Traveling with mobility limitations can make them a bit challenging, but worth the effort.

• 
  Boarding from ship. Make sure you have talked to a crew member if you have specific limitations. If you have a hand or leg that is a problem, let them know.  For me it can take a moment to coordinate my knees when stepping up or down from a moving surface. It did not take long for the crew to learn that I would pause after taking the arm hold but before taking the step. "Now" would tell them that I was ready.
• Evaluating  before choosing a ship. The small ship that I had set my heart on was the one that I had to opt out of. A rope ladder down to the zodiacs then stepping into a moving target is probably doable once or twice, but it would be problematic, not just for me, but for the others on the trip. If possible look for a photo of zodiac boarding for your ship.
• Cameras, poles, and other gear. Make sure they are attached. My camera was on a strap around my neck or attached to my jacket. You will want to take photos from the zodiac. My poles were made smallest possible and clipped to my pack. You are going to drop something, and something is going to get wet.
• Landings. There will be wet and dry landings. There will probably be folk to help you on and off, but still you will need to be prepared for some challenges.  Listen to directions. Take your time. And do not be embarrassed to say "This landing is not for me." One dry landing led immediately to a stone stair case without handholds. Yep I probably could have done it, but one fall there would have meant a broken me, and the end of the trip for every one else.